Much of the manufactured products and produce moved in commerce are stored and transported on pallets. Pallets are typically constructed to have flat top and bottom surfaces formed of spaced wooden planks nailed to wooden runners, extending generally perpendicular to the planks. The top and bottom surfaces are separated by reason of the runners to form a center area having two open opposite ends where a forklift or other lifting device can easily insert lifting arms to pick up and move the pallet. Pallets are of a standard size and shape, making transportation planning easier which eases the flow and transportation of goods through commerce. While pallets are made of wood strong enough to withstand heavy loads and multiple trips through commerce, pallets can lose their strength due to breakage, moisture or general misuse. Accordingly, unusable pallets need to be discarded, which is widely recognized as a significant disposal problem.
While pallets can be sent to traditional landfills, this can be costly since discarded pallets take up a significant volume of space, much of which is air. By shredding a pallet, the storage space and cost of disposing of a pallet can be significantly reduced. In addition, it is possible to avoid the disposal of pallets by recycling the material that is generated by shredding pallets.
Previous methods of shredding pallets have involved large, complex machines requiring a significant monetary investment due to the complexity of these machines. Many of these machines use constantly moving, medium to high speed, unidirectional blades which are typically operated by large electric motors and large gear reducers to literally shred the pallets into smaller pieces. The high cost of these machines limits their economical use to high volume operations.